Theodore j



(No Model.)

T. J. VINCENTZ; APPLIANCE FOR HOLDING PAPER SHEETS IN QUANTITY. No. 473,099.

Patented Apr. 19, 1892;

UNITE STAT S ATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE J. VINOENTZ, OF ORANGE, NEV JERSEY.

APPLIANCE l-OR HOLDING PAPER SHEETS IN QUANTITY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 473,099, dated April 19, 1892.

Application filed September 18, 1891. Serial No. 406,083. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE J. VINCENTZ, of Orange, New J ersey, have invented a certain Improvement in a Method of and Appliance for Holding Paper Sheets in Quantity, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is designed for use in stores, shops, factories, or elsewhere where large quantities of wrapping-paper or paper bags are used.

The object of the invention is to provide for the holding'of a large pile of sheets of paper or paper bags in convenient position for access in such a way that one or any desired number of such sheets or bags can be readily withdrawn from the pile without disturbing the remainder. A

The appliance for effecting the desired purpose consists of a supporting-plate, which may, if desired, be hung upon a nail, or affixed to a wall or to a bench, and which is provided with a suitably-curved clamping-plate adapted to bear upon the doubled end of the pile with elastic pressure which gradually diminishes in force in consequenceof the change of the'line of hearing as the thickness of the doubled end of the pile is lessened by the withdrawal of sheets or bags therefrom.

The accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, are as follows:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the holder. Fig. 2 is a top View of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same charged to its full capacity with a pile of paper having one end doubled upon itself. Fig. 4 is a side elevation illustrating the changed position of the clamping-plate when a considerable proportion of the pile has been withdrawn.

The drawings represent the supportingplate a, perforated with the hole b, adapting it for suspension upon a nail. The pile d of sheets of paper or paper bags has its upper end doubled over, forming the bight d, and

is held against the supporting-plate a by elastic pressure exerted upon the doubled portion of the pile by the rocking clamping-plate e, the axis 6 of which is at a sufficient distance from the supporting-plate a to allow room for loosely admitting the bight d of the pile.

The clamping-plate is supported by means of two wires f f of spring-steel, the end f of each of which is fastened to the supportingplate, from which the wire extends outwardly and downwardly a prescribed distance, forming the curve f and is then wound into a coil f terminatingin the endf which is suitably curved and fastened to the inner side of the clamping-plate e.

As will be seen, the clamping-plate e is sinnously curved. At the top it presents a slightlyconcave face g upon its inner side, while in the middle it presents a convex face 9' upon its inner side. The free edge g of the clamping-plate is preferably bent toward the supporting-plate, in order that there may be a sharp line of pressure exerted upon the last few sheets of the pile. The curves f 2 of the wires f and the concave upper portion g of the clamping-plate afford room for loosely containing the bight d of the pile between the clamping-plate and supporting-plate. When the pile is full, the clamping-plate occupies its farthest outward position and the coiled springs are under their most extreme tension. Under these conditions, it will be seen, the pressure upon the outer fold of the pile is administered by the convex portion g of the plate. The sheets are withdrawn from the pile by twitching out the sheet whose bight is innermost. As the pile is reduced in thickness the clamping-plate rocks toward the supporting-plate, and the line of its bearing upon the fold of the pile gradually changes by getting farther and farther from the axis of the plate. Two causesthus operate to diminish the force which the clamping-plate exerts upon the pile as the pile gradually becomes reduced in thickness. One of these is thediminution of the tension of the coiled springs, due to their unwinding, and the other is the increased distance from the axis of the clamping-plate of the line of its bearing upon the pile, which diminishes the leverage with which the pressure of the springs is administered.

While the described construction of the clamping-plate and its spring connection with 'its supporting-plate is that preferred by reason of its simplicity and economy, it will of course be understood that the invention will be equally present, irrespective of the kind of spring employed, if the clamping-plate be curved substantially as shown and has a sufficiently-wide range of rocking movement to loosely admit the bight of the pile between the upper end of the clamping-plate and the supporting-plate. It will also be understood that the supporting-plate may either be hung 'or fastened upon a wall or be laid upon or affixed to a bench or table.

What is claimed as the invention is 1. A holder for clamping together with elastic pressure the folded-over end of a pile of sheets of paper or paper bags, the same consisting of a supporting-plate and a spring clamping-plate connected with the said supporting-plate and having its axis at a sufficient distance from the said supporting-plate to loosely admit the bight of the said folded pile between said supporting-plate and the part of said clamping-plate near its axis, the said clamping-plate having its middle portion curved transversely and presenting the convex side of its curved middle portion toward the said supporting-plate, whereby the distance from its axis of the line of bearing of said clamping-plate upon the folded pile gradually increases as the pile is diminished in the wires f f, formed integrally with the coiled springs f f respectively, each of the said wires having its end f fastened to said supporting-plate and its end f fastened to said clamping-plate, substantially as shown and described. 1

8. The combination, as herein set forth, of the supporting-plate a, the clamping-plate 6, formed with the convex face g, and the wires f f, each of which is formed integrally with a coiled spring f and with a curve f and has its end f fastened to the supporting-plate a and its end f fastened to the clamping-plate e, substantially as and for the purposes described.

TI'IEODORE J. VINOENTZ.

vli'itnesses:

MARY L. ADAMS, A. M. JONES. 

